Burqa ban: Parliament backs down and makes extremists “smile”, according to Jacqui Lambie

BACKING down from the controversial decision to ban burqas in Parliament’s open public galleries will make Islamic extremists “smile”, according to Jacqui Lambie.

The Presiding officers this morning overturned their controversial decision to segregate people wearing head coverings behind enclosed glass in the chambers.

“The decision today to allow burqas and other forms of identity concealing items of dress to be worn in Australia’s Parliament will put a smile on the face of the overseas Islamic extremists and their supporters in Australia — who view the burqa or niqab as flags for extremism,” the Palmer United Party Senator said.

“To the Islamic extremists, today’s decision will prove how weak and indecisive we have become as a nation and how our PM lacks the courage of his convictions when it comes to Australia’s national security,” she added.

Smile ... Jacqui Lambie gives her take on the decision to backdown on burqa ban in Parliament. Picture” Kym Smith/News Corp.Source:News Corp Australia

“Today’s decision will boost the extremists’ morale and encourage them to commit more atrocities and acts of violence against Australians — so that they can create a world where every woman is forced by their religious leaders’ law to wear a burqa or niqab.

“Today’s decision will also attack the morale of members of our ADF special forces, as they are about to deploy into Iraq.

“It comes at a time when all ADF members’ morale is at rock bottom after the government’s insulting wage offer. This decision will be like rubbing salt into the wound.”

Senator Lambie said she will proceed with a private members’ bill making it illegal to wear the burqa in public.

Both Senator Parry and Bronwyn Bishop denied they received a request from the Prime Minister asking for them to reconsider the decision.

On October 3 Tony Abbott told reporters he had asked the Speaker to “rethink” the move.

But when asked by Labor today if she had been requested by the Prime Minister’s office, Ms Bishop said “in a word, no”.

A spokesman for Mr Abbott said: “The prime minister spoke to the speaker the day the revised security arrangements were announced.

“He made clear his views on the changed arrangements.

“No formal request was made to change the arrangements as they are a matter for the presiding officers.”

Labor tpushed for an explanation as to why the original decision was made.

“It has been an absurd fortnight,” Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke told reporters.

“The backdown today is welcomed, but the need to explain why on earth we have been through this farce remains,” Mr Burke said.

“The need for the Speaker and the President to explain what possessed them to think that segregation was a good idea.”

But a Coalition MP has said the measures don’t go far enough.

Liberal MP George Christensen, who believes wearing the facial coverings in public buildings is a security risk, says the idea of segregating people in an area usually reserved for schoolchildren “isn’t the best thing”.

Instead, people should be asked to show their faces in parliament.

“I suppose they were looking for a happy medium,” he told ABC Radio.

“(But that ruling) had a lot of adverse reaction, more so than simply banning facing coverings in Parliament House would have.”